Philip Green to be target of corporate tax avoidance protest

Students protest over tax avoidance and education cuts, outside a London Topshop, part of the group owned by Sir Philip Green, now also David Cameron's efficiency adviser. Photograph: Christian Sinibaldi for the Guardian Christian Sinibaldi/Guardian

Sir Philip Green, the retail billionaire and efficiency adviser to the government, is to become the target of a nationwide campaign by protesters opposed to government cuts and alleged tax avoidance.

High street stores belonging to the businessman's group, including Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Miss Selfridge, will be among those that protesters focus on in the run-up to Christmas.

Plans to disrupt Arcadia Group stores were devised by UK Uncut, a fast-expanding group of activists who have closed down more than 30 Vodafone shops in the past six weeks by mobilising through social networks.

UK Uncut's Twitter hashtag, #ukuncut, has become the rallying point for opponents of the government's austerity cuts. It was used widely by protesters who this month clashed with police during two large demonstrations against the proposed increase in student tuition fees.

The group started up when activists decided to target Vodafone on 27 October, claiming that the company had avoided £6bn in tax, an allegation denied by Vodafone. The protest, organised through Twitter, went viral and over some weeks more stores closed.

About 20 UK Uncut activists met several times before deciding to make Green a target. They plan to call on activists to approach shops in the Arcadia Group, as well as Vodafone, from Saturday. They intend to start by congregating at Green's flagship store, Topshop, in London's Oxford Circus. In a sign of UK Uncut's expanding popularity, they have secured the backing of the Jubilee Debt Campaign, and of War on Want, two mainstream anti-poverty campaigns with almost 30,000 supporters between them.

Activists hope a campaign against Green's retail empire will drive a wedge between David Cameron, who selected him to review efficiency in Whitehall, and the prime minister's Lib Dem partners, who are calling for action against tax avoiders.

Green's document, published in October, reported "shocking" wastage in the government's procurement strategy. However, his suitability as a government adviser was questioned because of his alleged tax avoidance. The businessman banked the biggest pay cheque in corporate history in 2005 when his Arcadia fashion business, which owns Topshop, paid a £1.2bn dividend. The record-breaking payment went to his wife, Tina, who lives in Monaco and is the direct owner of Arcadia. Because of this arrangement no UK income tax was due on the gain.

Richard Murphy, director of Tax Research UK, estimated Green saved £285m by paying the dividend to his wife.

Arcadia's holding company is Taveta Investments, which paid £71m in tax in the last financial year. Beyond Taveta, based behind Oxford Street, London, the ownership trail goes offshore via a Jersey-based investment vehicle called Taveta Ltd.

Arcadia has declined to comment about the planned protests or alleged tax avoidance. Green previously said the tax issue was not "relevant" to a discussion about his suitability to lead a government spending review. "I contribute tens of millions of pounds [to the exchequer]. I employ 45,000 people and pay tens and tens of millions of pounds of tax," he said.

Tax avoidance has been estimated by the TUC to have lost exchequer about £25bn in revenue, including £13bn attributed to individuals.

"Philip Green is a tax avoider, and yet is regarded by David Cameron as an appropriate man to advise the government on austerity," said UK Uncut's spokesman, 26-year-old Daniel Garvin. "His missing millions need to be reclaimed and invested into public services not into his wife's bank account."